344 A DECADE OF WORK AT HOME. [1846, 



and go on with us to Philadelphia that evening. We 

 shall probably go together to Carlisle, where he has 

 something to do with that capital naturalist, Professor 

 Baird, and I have to get live Vacciniurn brachycerum. 

 He will soon return to make ready his lectures here. 



Agassiz is an excellent fellow, and I know you will 

 be glad to make his personal acquaintance. I must 

 make my stay, such as it can be, at Princeton, on 

 my return. . . . 



9th December, 1846. 



Agassiz lectured first last evening ; fine audience ; 

 he had a cold; was very hoarse, so that he spoke 

 with discomfort to himself, but it went off very well. 

 Though he by no means did himself justice, the audi- 

 ence seemed well pleased, and the persons I spoke 

 with at the time, the most intelligent people, were 

 quite delighted and impressed. He has repeated to- 

 day. I expect to hear him again on Friday. . . . 



I have sixteen proofs of " Genera Illustrata." The 

 engraving is clean and neat, but except a few of the 

 last, they are not done so well as we expect, and do 

 not do justice to the drawings, which, indeed, are 

 almost matchless. Prestele has, in some, altered the 

 arrangement of the analyses on the plate ; conse- 

 quently they must be done over again. 



I am clear that Prestele can do what I want, so I 

 have given him further instructions, and have raised 

 his pay to $2.50 each ; increasing my own risk thereby. 

 Sprague has discovered some new quiddities about the 

 position of the ovule in Ranunculacea?. The raphe is 

 dorsal in all of them, with pendulous ovules ; also in 

 Nelumbium. 



He will go on very slowly ; I can't hurry him. He 

 has not yet taken up Croomia. 



